ANSI/SCTE

Transcription

1 ENGINEERING COMMITTEE Digital Video Subcommittee AMERICAN NATIONAL STANDARD ANSI/SCTE Program-Specific Ad Insertion - Traffic System to Ad Insertion System File Format Specification

2 NOTICE The Society of Cable Telecommunications Engineers (SCTE) Standards are intended to serve the public interest by providing specifications, test methods and procedures that promote uniformity of product, interchangeability and ultimately the long term reliability of broadband communications facilities. These documents shall not in any way preclude any member or nonmember of SCTE from manufacturing or selling products not conforming to such documents, nor shall the existence of such standards preclude their voluntary use by those other than SCTE members, whether used domestically or internationally. SCTE assumes no obligations or liability whatsoever to any party who may adopt the Standards. Such adopting party assumes all risks associated with adoption of these Standards, and accepts full responsibility for any damage and/or claims arising from the adoption of such Standards. Attention is called to the possibility that implementation of this standard may require the use of subject matter covered by patent rights. By publication of this standard, no position is taken with respect to the existence or validity of any patent rights in connection therewith. SCTE shall not be responsible for identifying patents for which a license may be required or for conducting inquiries into the legal validity or scope of those patents that are brought to its attention. Patent holders who believe that they hold patents which are essential to the implementation of this standard have been requested to provide information about those patents and any related licensing terms and conditions. Any such declarations made before or after publication of this document are available on the SCTE web site at All Rights Reserved Society of Cable Telecommunications Engineers, Inc Philips Road Exton, PA 19341

3 TABLE OF CONTENTS 1.0 SCOPE NORMATIVE REFERENCES INFORMATIVE REFERENCES COMPLIANCE NOTATION DEFINITIONS AND ACRONYMS OVERVIEW FORMAT OF THE XML FILES...7 APPENDIX A: STATUS CODES...16

4 1.0 SCOPE This document defines the information that shall be passed from an Affiliate s Traffic system to an Affiliate s Ad Insertion System for communications of ad insertion schedules, including Unique Program Identifiers where specified. It specifies the required data for Multi-Tiered, Program Specific Insertion, as well as the file format for the data communications. This document only describes digital ad insertion with SCTE 35 cue messages. 2.0 NORMATIVE REFERENCES The following documents contain provisions, which, through reference in this text, constitute provisions of this standard. At the time of subcommittee approval, the editions indicated were valid. All standards are subject to revision, and parties to agreement based on this standard are encouraged to investigate the possibility of applying the most recent editions of the documents listed below. 2.1 SCTE References [1] SCTE Digital Program Insertion Cueing Message for Cable [2] SCTE Program-Specific Ad Insertion - Data Field Definitions, Functional Overview and Application Guidelines 2.2 Standards from other Organizations [3] ISO Data elements and interchange formats -- Information interchange -- Representation of dates and times Move to 2.2 or change to non-segmented get updated template [4] W3C Recommendation, Extensible Markup Language (XML) 1.0 (Fourth Edition), Tim Bray, et al, 16 August 2006 [5] W3C Recommendation, Namespaces In XML (Second Edition), Tim Bray, et al, 16 August 2006 [6] W3C Recommendation, XML Schema Part 1: Structures (Second Edition), H. Thompson, et al, 28 October 2004 [7] W3C Recommendation, XML Schema Part 2: Datatypes (Second Edition), P. Biron, et al, 28 October

5 3.0 INFORMATIVE REFERENCES The following documents may provide valuable information to the reader but are not required when complying with this standard. 3.1 SCTE References [8] SCTE Recommended Practice for SCTE 35 Digital Program Insertion Cueing Message for Cable [9] SCTE Program-Specific Ad Insertion Traffic System to Ad Insertion System File Format Specification [10] SCTE Program-Specific Ad Insertion Content Provider to Traffic Communication Applications Data Model [11] SCTE Automation System to Compression System Communications Applications Program Interface (API) 3.2 Standards from other Organizations None. 3.3 Published Materials [12] Ad-ID - Advertising Digital Identification, LLC COMPLIANCE NOTATION SHALL This word or the adjective REQUIRED means that the item is an absolute requirement of this specification. SHALL NOT This phrase means that the item is an absolute prohibition of this specification. SHOULD This word or the adjective RECOMMENDED means that there may exist valid reasons in particular circumstances to ignore this item, but the full implications should be understood and the case carefully weighted before choosing a different course. SHOULD NOT This phrase means that there may exist valid reasons in particular circumstances when the listed behavior is acceptable or even useful, but the full implications should be understood and the case carefully weighed before implementing any behavior described with this label. MAY This word or the adjective OPTIONAL means that this item is truly optional. One vendor may choose to include the item because a particular marketplace requires it or because it enhances the product, for example; another vendor may omit the same item. 5.0 DEFINITIONS AND ACRONYMS The following terms are used in this document: 2

6 Ad Insertion System Avail Break Broadcast Day Business Day Calendar Day Cue Message Event Based Format MSO Network Schedule File Slot Spot Tier Time Based Format Traffic System Traffic and Billing (TandB) System A complete hardware and software solution that interprets the schedule file, streams content when triggered based on the schedule file, logs insertion results, and returns a verification file to the Traffic and Billing system. An avail is an opportunity provided by the network to a local affiliate to insert a commercial event into a program. The start of an avail is indicated as a splice event in the programming stream. The duration of the avail may vary from a few seconds to several minutes. (See SCTE 67[8]) A break is an opportunity for local insertion to occur within a broadcast program. In a sales context, a break is divided into sellable units (avails). In an insertion context, a break is divisible into individual insertion events (slots). The nominally 24 hour period which is logically thought of as a day for a broadcaster or MSO. When it does not align with a calendar date, it will typically begin in the early morning and span across midnight. For the MSO s traffic and billing system, this is the calendar date that contains the start of the Broadcast Day. The actual, Gregorian calendar day on which an event takes place. A broadcaster or MSO may define their broadcast day as representing events that span 2 separate calendar days. An SCTE 35[1] Cue Message. Defined by setting up a window time and assigning avails that float within that window. Acronym for Multi-System Operator. A cable, satellite, or digital terrestrial content delivery network such as CNN, ESPN, etc. It can also include an MSO s locally originated programming. An XML file that lists all the spots and times that the spots are to play, for a particular network and zone. A slot is a segment of time within a break into which a spot can be scheduled. A single, schedulable and verifiable, piece of video and audio content within an avail. A measure of system and data support with regards to Program Specific Ad Insertion, as defined by SCTE 118-1[2]. A time based format assigns each break an exact time that a cue message is to be expected and then allows for a buffer around it. Shorthand for Traffic and Billing System. A system that process client orders, creates schedule files, processes verification files, and produces invoices. 3

7 Unique Unique Program Identifier Verification File Window Window Based Zone Within the scope of this document, the definition of unique follows SCTE 67[8] section 5.8 s definition of unique and its usage. A bitfield in this file format specification that is equivalent to the unique_program_id field in SCTE 35[1]. An XML file generated by the Ad Insertion System that lists all of the spots that successfully played and failed to play, for a particular network and zone. A time range, defined by the schedule file, when a cue message is expected. A type of avail. Insertion will be triggered by a cue received within a specified time range and not by a Program ID. Window Based avails can be scheduled as time or event based format A geographic sales region. 6.0 OVERVIEW A Traffic System shall communicate, through a Schedule file, which spots should be played by the Ad Insertion System in response to various SCTE 35 Cue Messages. The Ad Insertion System shall communicate, through a Verification file, which spots were played (or attempted to play), which failed to play (due to an error or due to no matching Cue Message), and any Cue Messages that were received but not acted upon. This document defines the necessary information to communicate both the scheduling of Spots from a Traffic System to an Ad Insertion System and the return path verifications in accordance with the various Tiers of Service described in SCTE 118-1[2]. Additionally, it details the file format for communication between a Traffic System and an SCTE 35 [1] compliant Ad Insertion System. The schedule and verification files between the Traffic System and the Ad Insertion System are contained within Extensible Markup Language (XML) documents. 6.1 General Requirements A Traffic System compliant with this Standard shall generate schedule files on a per zone, per network, per broadcast day basis. A single schedule file shall not contain scheduled Spots for more than 1 broadcast day. A Level 0 (as defined in Section 6.2) schedule shall contain all scheduled Spots per zone, network and broadcast day in a single schedule file. A Level 1 (as defined in Section 6.2) schedule file may contain a day part or only contain the changes to an existing schedule file. Each schedule file shall contain the attributes as defined in Section 7.4. Program- Specific scheduling is enabled through the use of valid values for Unique Program Identifier (for Tier 1 and Tier 2), Avails Expected (for Tier 2) and Avail Number (for Tier 2) attributes. Window based scheduling is enabled through the use of zeros (or 4

8 by omitting them) for those attributes. Both Window based scheduling and Program based scheduling may exist in the same file, in which case, the Program-Specific schedule lines will be considered the primary schedule and the Window based schedule lines will be considered the alternate schedule (see Section 8.3 in SCTE 118-2[10]) 1.1. A single schedule file may contain Tier 1 and Tier 2 elements, but a particular Program element shall be either Tier 1 or Tier 2, and may not have child elements of both Tiers Schedule & Verification file format requirements The Network and Zone Names defined in the Schedule Filename shall match the Network and Zones Names within the schedule and verification files. No value is required for optional attributes, and they are only optionally specified. Unless otherwise stated, attribute character lengths are maximums. All times are based on the 24 hour clock. All times and dates, unless otherwise noted, are actual times and Calendar dates, and shall not be adjusted by broadcast day parameters. Dates and Times shall be represented using ISO-8601[3] date-time formats, and shall exist as one attribute unless otherwise noted. They shall be of the format YYYY-MM-DDThh:mm:ss.ccTZD where: YYYY = four-digit year MM = two-digit month (01-12) DD = two-digit day of month (01-31) hh = two-digit of hour (00-23) mm = two-digit minute (00-59) ss = two-digit seconds (00-59) cc = two-digit fraction of seconds TZD = time zone designator (Z or +hh:mm or hh:mm) Alphanumeric attributes shall only contain letters and numbers, and shall be case-sensitive/dependent. 5

9 A broadcast day s definition (start and end times) should not normally change from day-to-day. When adjustments are required, consecutive broadcast days shall not have gaps or overlaps in time. Traffic Id s are unique for a Schedule Source within a Zone, Network and Broadcast Day, and shall not be reused within a Broadcast Day Data Type Definitions The schema for this standard will use name space and prefix scte118:date is a 8 digit integer representing YYYYMMDD. scte118:duration is a 8 digit integer representing HHMMSSCC. 6.2 File Levels This Standard supports two Levels of Schedule Files. Level 0 Schedule Files shall be sent as a complete file, and are independent of any previously received schedule files for that Network and Zone. Level 1 Schedule Files may be sent as updates that represent changes to a previously generated and distributed Level 0 or Level 1 schedule file ( delta behavior). Level 0 schedule files shall set the \Schedule\@level attribute to zero, and Level 1 schedules shall set the attribute to one. When a Level 0 schedule is received, all unplayed and non-expired Spots for the Broadcast Day are purged. When a Level 1 schedule is received, all unplayed and non-expired Spots take precedence over newly scheduled Spots with duplicate Key Values. Note: The current generation of Traffic and Ad Insertion Systems currently support only whole day schedule updates, and only support the Event Type verbs LOI and NUL Event Type Verbs LOI shall be the verb used for any Locally Originated Insertion, and represents any insertion being performed by the specific Ad Insertion System in question. NUL shall represent no insertion, and signals an Ad Insertion System to perform no insertion for the specified time when the Avail is signaled (enabling chained inserters, etc.). The DEL verb shall delete a previously scheduled Spot based on Traffic Id. Support for both LOI and NUL, form the Level 0 profile compliant with this Standard. Level 0 profile only allows for entire day schedule updates. 6

10 Systems implementing a Level 1 profile may utilize both the LOI and NUL verbs, and shall implement both the DEL verb and a delta schedule file (Level 1). Note: Through the utilization of a Level 1 profile schedule file, a Traffic System may add or delete one or more scheduled Spots without sending an entire new schedule file Duplicate Key Attributes If Level 1 schedules are supported, an Ad Insertion System parsing a Level 1 schedule shall reject any Spots whose key attributes (see Section 7.4.1) are duplicates of those already scheduled. An Ad Insertion System parsing a Level 1 schedule should process DEL Event Types before LOI or NUL Event Types to prevent encountering a duplicate Spot schedule. When scheduling a new Spot (either as an independent event or following a delete), a new unique Traffic Id should be assigned for each new Spot. 7.0 FORMAT OF THE XML FILES 7.1 File Naming The schedule filename, shall include the following fields in order, separated by dashes: Field Notes Broadcast Date same as Broadcast Date Definition (section 7.4) Zone Name same as Zone Name (section 7.4) Network Name same as Network Name (section 7.4) Schedule Revision same as Schedule Revision (section 7.4) File Extension.SCH for Schedule Files Example: EAST-ESPN-1.SCH The verification filename, shall include the following fields in order, separated by dashes: Field Notes Broadcast Date same as Broadcast Date Definition (section 7.6) Zone Name same as Zone Name (section 7.6) Network Name same as Network Name (section 7.6) File Extension.VER for Verification Files Example: EAST-ESPN.VER 7.2 Multi-Tier Support Attributes with the Req column set to All are required for Tier 0, Tier 1 and Tier 2 support. 7

11 In addition to those attributes required for Tier 0 insertion, Unique Program Identifier shall be present to support Tier 1 insertion. These attributes are denoted by a 1 in the Req column. In addition to those attributes required for Tier 1 insertion, both Avail Number and Avails Expected shall be present to support Tier 2 insertion. They are denoted by a 2 in the Req column. 7.3 Schedule Schema Structure Figure 1 - Schedule XML Schema Abstract A Schedule File has a Schedule element as the top-level (root) element. The Schedule file may have Programs, Windows and Spots as the child elements. The Schema for the Schedule file supports Windows (and their corresponding Avails and Spots) that are both associated with a Program and Windows that are specified by time only (which have Schedule as their parent element). Tier 0 insertions may be scheduled through either method, while Tier 1 and Tier 2 insertions may only be achieved through the use of Windows within a Program element. Note: A Window whose parent is Schedule can be assumed to have a Program element with Key Attributes of zero. Conversely, if a schedule defines a Window whose parent element is a Program whose Unique Program Identifier is zero, the Window s behavior is essentially as if its parent is Schedule. All Windows belonging to an element with a Unique Program Identifier of zero (whether they are a child element of a Program or are child elements of Schedule) are peers, and should implement their key attributes accordingly. 8

12 Spots may exist as children of the Schedule Element if the Schedule is a Level 1 Schedule and the Spots that are children of the Schedule element are of Event Type DEL. The Schedule File Schema is specified in the companion schema file scte x.xsd. 7.4 Schedule File Attribute Descriptions Definition of a Schedule s Key Attributes Schedule files shall avoid conflicts by not having two elements with duplicate Key attributes with the same parent element. Key attributes prevent conflicts by disallowing elements that would create an ambiguous schedule file. If an element is encountered with the same parent element and whose Key attributes match those of one of its siblings, it will be ignored. For example, two Programs with duplicate Unique Program Identifiers with in a single Schedule element (which is prohibited in SCTE [2]Section 6.1 due to overlapping Unique Program Identifiers lifespans) make it impossible to determine which Program is the intended Program of a SCTE 35[1] Cue Message. A Schedule element s key attributes are Broadcast Date Definition, Schedule Revision, Network Name and Zone Name. A Program element s key attributes are Unique Program Identifiers and Scheduled Program Date and Time. All Window attributes are key attributes. If a Window occurs within a Program element, the Window s Scheduled Window Date and Time and Scheduled Window Duration shall be such that the Window occurs wholly within the lifecycle of the Program s Unique Program Identifier, centered on the Scheduled Program Date and Time (see SCTE 118-1[2] Section 6.1). An Avail element s key attribute is Scheduled Avail Number within Window and Avail Number (if Tier 2). A Spot s key attribute is Scheduled Avail Number within Window. The Traffic ID, which must also be unique, and Schedule Source represents a Spot whose own attributes and all parent elements attributes are unique. In the attribute description below the Key attributes are represented with a Y in the column labeled Key. For the following table, the XML Reference column describes the parent element and attribute name for each attribute of the Schedule File. 9

13 Type Format Req Key Notes/Detailed Description XML Reference Broadcast Date scte118:date All Y The calendar date which the Schedule > Definition Schedule element is Schedule Day Begin Schedule Day End Network Name xs:string 2-5 char. Zone Name xs:string 2-8 char. Schedule Revision Level SCTE [TBD] Schema Version Program Name Scheduled Program Date and Time Scheduled Program Duration to represent. xs:datetime All N This attribute allows for the definition of the actual date and time that is the beginning of the broadcast day. xs:datetime All N This attribute allows for the definition of the actual date and time that is the end of the broadcast day. All Y This is meant to track the generation of schedule files, so that a user can differentiate between an original and updated (revised) file. Incremented each time a new revision is generated, starting from 1. Schedule Schedule All Y Short Network name. Schedule All Y Short Zone name. Schedule Schedule 0 or 1 N N If not present, 0. (see section 6.2) xs:anyuri All N URI to the schema version of this Standard to which the current XML schedule is compliant. xs:string 32 char. N N e.g., Larry King Live, ESPN Sports Center, etc xs:datetime 1 & 2 Y When the program is scheduled to begin, as published by the Network in SCTE 118-2[10]. This is the midpoint of the 24 hour window which is the lifecycle of a Unique Program Identifier. scte118:dura tion N N Scheduled duration of the program. Schedule Schedule Program Program Program 10

14 Type Format Req Key Notes/Detailed Description XML Reference Unique Program Identifier & 2 Y see SCTE 35 (unique_program_id) Default to 0 if not specified. 0 means no program ID available, and represents a Tier 0 scheduled Program Avails Expected Scheduled Window Date and Time Scheduled Window Duration Scheduled Avail Date and Time Scheduled Avail Number within Window Avail Number element. 2 N see SCTE 35 [1] (avails_expected) Default to 0 if not specified. 0 means no Avails Expected available, and represents a Tier 0 or Tier 1 scheduled element. xs:datetime All Y The beginning of the active window for the spot. Used for determining when a Window is valid and when it has expired. scte118:dura tion All Y The length of time the active window is open for the spot. Used for determining when a Window is valid and when it has expired. xs:datetime No N The anticipated beginning of the avail cue message. (Informative) All Y This is the avail number within the current window 2 Y see SCTE 35 [1] (avail_num) Default to 0 if not specified. 0 means no Avail Number available, and represents a Tier 0 or Tier 1 scheduled element. Event Type xs:string 3 char. Traffic ID All N Unique ID generated by the TandB system to track a specific instance of a Spot. Used for verification and deleting a Spot. Scheduled Position Number within Avail Program Window Window Avail Avail Avail All N (see All Y Scheduled position for a specific commercial within a avail. Positions defined temporal order, not absolute 11

15 Type Format Req Key Notes/Detailed Description XML Reference Scheduled Spot Length scte118:dura tion All N The length of the spot scheduled to Spot Identification xs:string 20 char. All N The TandB assigned spot Advertiser Name xs:string 32 char. N N Value provided by the TandB system as entered by Advertiser Spot Name Spot Type Schedule Source Contract Order Start DateTime Contract Order End DateTime Priority xs:string 20 char. xs:string 5 char. xs:string 16 char. operator/mso. N N Value provided by the TandB system as entered by the operator/mso. N N SCHED Scheduled FILL Fill BONUS Bonus All N e.g. Interconnect, Local, National, Marketing, etc. Assigned by the originating TandB system. Uniqueness is not ensured and will need to be coordinated between sites if schedules will be merged. xs:datetime N N If Contract Order Start Time is populated then Contract Order End Time must also be populated, or they are invalid. Used to allow a missed spot to insert in a future bonus/fill location in the same day xs:datetime N N If Contract Order End Time is populated then Contract Order Start Time must also be populated, or they are invalid. Used to allow a missed spot to insert in a future bonus/fill location in the same day N N Determines the priority of a failed ad for inserting into a future bonus/fill location Value N N The value of the spot to the nearest dollar Ad ID xs:string @contractend N 12

16 7.5 Verification Schema Structure Figure 2 - Verification XML Schema Abstract A Verification File shall have a Verification element as the top-level (root) element. The children Elements may be either CueMessage elements or Spot elements. A Spot element shall exist as a child of the Verification element for each Spot scheduled (and not Deleted). A CueMessage element shall exist for each CueMessage received by the Ad Insertion System. A CueMessage shall have a Spot element for each Spot that the Ad Insertion System attempted to play in response to the Cue Message. If the Ad Insertion System did not attempt to play a Spot, the Cue Message will have zero child elements. A Spot element that is a child of the parent Verification element shall exist for each Spot which did not attempt to play as a result of no corresponding Cue Message. The Verification File Schema is specified in the companion schema file scte X.xsd. 7.6 Verification File Structure For the following table, the XML Reference column describes the parent element and attribute name for each attribute of the Verification File. Type Format Req Notes/Detailed Description XML Reference Broadcast Date scte118:date All The calendar date which the Verification > Definition Verification element Verification Day Begin considered to represent. xs:datetime All This attribute allows for the definition of the actual date and time that is the beginning of the broadcast day. Verification 13

17 Type Format Req Notes/Detailed Description XML Reference Verification Day End xs:datetime All This attribute allows for the definition of the actual date Verification and time that is the end of the broadcast day. Network Name xs:string 2 to 5 char. All Short Network name. Verification Zone Name xs:string All Short Zone name. Verification > Verification Complete SCTE [118-3] Schema Version Cue Message Receive Time Cue Message Unique Program Identifiers Cue Message Avail Number Cue Message Avails Expected 2 to 8 char. xs:boolean N Flag that Ad Insertion System believes that all events scheduled for the Broadcast Day have been verified. xs:anyuri All URI to the schema version of this Standard to which the current XML verification is compliant. xs:datetime All Time at which the Cue Message is Received All see SCTE 35 [1](unique_program_id) value specified in the Cue Message. All see SCTE 35 [1](avail_num) value specified in the Cue Message. All see SCTE 35 [1] (avails_expected) value specified in the Cue Message. Traffic ID All Traffic ID specified by the schedule file. Spot Identification xs:string All The TandB assigned spot 20 char. identifier Aired Date and xs:datetime All Actual time at which the Time system attempted to play the Aired Length Aired Position within Avail Status Code Status Text scte118:durati on xs:string Verification Verification CueMessage CueMessage CueMessage Spot. All Actual length the Spot Played. 0 if the Spot did not All Actual aired position. 0 if the Spot did not All (see Appendix N Additional Status 14

18 Type Format Req Notes/Detailed Description XML Reference Spot Type xs:string N SCHED Scheduled 5 char. FILL Schedule Source xs:string 16 char. All BONUS Bonus e.g. Interconnect, Local, National, Marketing, etc. Assigned by the originating TandB system. Uniqueness is not ensured and will need to be coordinated between sites if schedules will be merged. Must be included in Verification if specified in the 15

19 APPENDIX A: STATUS CODES Status Code Description 0001 Aired Successfully Generic Failed to Air Failed, Bypass On Failed, Logging Turned Off Failed, Bad Video Failed, User Abort Failed, Inserter Abort Failed, Device Not Ready Failed, Unknown Error Failed, Time Out Failed, Device Time Out Failed, System Error Failed, Operator Error Failed, Inserter Busy Failed, Insertion Conflict Failed, Directory Error Failed, No Ad Copy in Inserter Failed, Cued Late Failed, Channel Collision Failed, No Cue in Window. 16